Device for the transport of bottles

ABSTRACT

A device for the transport of bottles comprising two racks facing each other, lining the opposed faces of a parallelepipedic case and having cutouts or notches the shape which corresponds to that of the neck and bottom of a bottle, respectively. The notches are so disposed in the racks that a bottle is securely maintained in position when its neck and its bottom fit into two facing and associated notches.

United States Patent Inventor Charles Benoit Chatuzange-le-Goubet, 26 France Appl. No. 809,304 Filed Mar. 21, 1969 Patented Mar. 30, 1971 Priority May 28, 1968 France 153,122

DEVICE FOR THE TRANSPORT OF BOTTLES 8 Claims, 13 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 217/19, 206/65 Int. Cl B6511 B65d 85/00, B65d 25/02 Field ofSearch 217/19, 18;

206/65 (E), 46 (F.C.M.), 46 (FRAG) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,593,689 4/1952 Mitchell 229/39-B 2,964,348 12/1960 Ingham t. 206/65-E 3,241,661 3/1966 Zamzow et a].....' 217/19-X FOREIGN PATENTS 996,492 8/1951 France 217/19 Primary Examiner-Raphael H. Schwartz Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen ABSTRACT: A device for the transport of bottles comprising two racks facing each other, lining the opposed faces of a parallelepipedic case and having cutouts or notches the shape of which corresponds to that of the neck and bottom of a bottle, respectively. The notches are so disposed in the racks that a bottle is securely maintained in position when its neck and its bottom fit into two facing and associated notches,

Pmmmd Mmrch 3% 191 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Pat@me& March 3U, 1971 3,572,53fl

4 Sheets-Sheet S Fig.7

Patented March 30, 1971 3,572,534

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGM DEVICE FOR THE TRANSPORT F BOTTLES The invention relates to a device adapted to facilitate the transport of bottles.

Up to now, bottles are usually transported in cases or bins comprising a parallelepipedic case body with internal subdivisions limiting compartments in which bottles, placed in vertical position, rest with their bottom on the bottom of the case.

In these cases or bins, the bottles are not effectively maintained unless the bin or the case is in its normal position, that is with its bottom horizontal.

The device according to the invention allows, on the contrary, the transport of bottles without risk of breaking and this in any position. The bottles are efficiently maintained with respect to accelerations or shocks whatever the direction thereof. An arrangement of same in plastic leads to simple and economical manufacturing.

The device according to the invention comprises two racks, facing each other, to hold the bottles, usually with their axis horizontal when the package is in its normal position, maintaining each bottle .by the end of its neck and its' bottom by means of housings or cutouts, the arrangements being such that after its introduction, which can eventually be sidewise, a bottle is maintained securely with respect to a displacement in any direction.

The invention contemplates an embodiment in which the cutouts or housings are made in plates which are placed on the walls of a conventional case.

The present invention may be well understood by the following description of several types of embodiments taken as examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a case according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an element of a device according to the invention; I

FIG. 3 is a front view of another element;

FIG. 4 is a cross section showing one step of the introduction of a bottle;

FIG. 5 is a view analogous to FIG. 4 but of another step in the introduction of a bottle;

FIG. 6 is also a view analogous to FIGS. 4 and 5 but still of 1 another step of the introduction;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a device according to a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. d is a section along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a section along line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a part of a case fitted with a device according to the invention;

FIG. llll is a front view of a plate according to the invention;

FIG. I2 is a section along line 12-12 ofFlG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a section along line 33-13 of FIG. Ill.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 to 6. A bottle case according to the invention comprises, in the type of embodiment 1 described, a parallelepipedic case body III, with walls 11, 12,

13, M which can be either solid or provided with holes and a bottom T5. The body It) can be made either from wood or plastic. The small opposite faces 12 and 114 have the usual recess I6 and 17 for the handling of the case.

According to the invention, the walls l1 and 13 are provided with a rack on their internal faces, respectively l8 and llil, including means to hold bottles in a horizontal position.

Rack I8 can be made of a wooden or plastic plate 20. In a modification when body 20 is made of plastic, it can be obtained directly by molding of the wall.

Rack IS (FIG. 2) has a lower row of circular cuttings 21 having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the body of the bottles which have to be transported. Above each cutout 2i, the rack has a slot 22, symmetrical with respect to the vertical diameter 23 of the cutout 21, and which has a semicircular bottom 24, two parallel sides 25 and 26, which are connected to the upper edge 27 of the plate 20 through the corner fillets 2S and 29, the distance between the sides 25 and 26 being slightly greater than diameter of the extreme end of a bottle neck.

Rack 19 is also made up from a wooden or plastic plate 30 (FIG. 3). In a modification, rack 19 can be obtained directly from molding the wall ill in plastic, or with the whole case body. Rack 19 presents, symmetrically with respect to the vertical plane 31, at the same distance from edge 32 as is the vertical plane 23 from edge 33, a wide cutout 34 opening by rectilinear sides 35 and as on the upper horizontal edge 37 of plate 30 and having two arcs 38 and 39 which do not join each other but extend through vertical parallel sides 40 and 41 which are spaced by a semicircumference 42, the diameter of which is slightly greater than the diameter of the end of a bottle neck and forms a narrow cutout 43.

Plate 20 has a certain number of pairs of cutouts 21-22, five for example, and plate 30 has the same number of opposite cutouts 34 and 43.

I Plates 20 and 3t) areifastened in the body It) by any appropriate means: glueing, nailing, tacking, etc.

To fill the case with bottles, one takes a first bottle and introduces it into the case, in a nearly horizontal position but at some obliquity, the neck being maintained higher than the bottom of the bottle so that this bottom can be introduced by its upper part in a lower circular cutout 21, the neck having not yet penetrated completely in the case body as shown on FIG. 4. The bottle is then pivoted in the way shown by the arrow f, the bottom of the bottle being supported by the wall 13, the neck passing through cutout 3d and coming to rest in the narrow cutout 43, the entire bottom penetrating progressively in cutout 21 as shown on FIG. 5. At the end of its motion, the bottle is horizontal as shown on the lower part of FIG. 6; it lies on the lower part 44 of cutout 31 by its bottom end and on are 42 of cutout 43 by the end of its neck.

To place a bottle above the one which has just been housed, said bottle is presented in a horizontal position, such as that shown on the upper part of FIG. 6. The distance between the internal surfaces of walls 13 and ll is sufficient for the introduction of the bottle in the case; the bottom of the bottle goes by the sides 35 and 36 of the wide cutout 34 and comes to rest on the circular parts 38 and 39 of said cutout. The neck of the bottle finds a housing in slot 22 and it rests by its end on the semicircular bottom 24 of this slot. This position is shown schematically for a half-bottle in the middle part of FIG. 6.

All the bottles of the lower and the upper rows are deposited into place as explained.

During transport, a lower bottle is maintained with respect to accelerations in the direction of its axis by the walls 13 and ll of the case and with respect to accelerations transverse to its axis, i.e. to said walls, by the thrust of its bottom against cutout 21 and by its neck against the sides 40 and 41. The intervals existing between the bottom of the bottle and the opposite case wall are small enough so that there cannot be any danger that the bottle might escape from the housing in the rack in case of accelerations directed lengthwise to the bottle. The bottle is maintained with respect to upwards accelerations by abutment against the bottle of the upper row.

With respect to horizontal accelerations, whatever the direction thereof, a bottle in the upper row is maintained in the same way as one in the lower row. With respect to upwards accelerations, the bottle in the upper row is maintained either by a cover placed on the case, or usually by the bottom of another case, similar or identical to the case that has just been described, allowing a stacking of cases just as readily as for ordinary cases.

It is also very simple to take out bottles from the case: a bottle of an upper row is extracted by raising it, holding it suitably horizontal by its neck, its bottom or both of them at the same time. The bottle of the lower row, which is thus freed, is taken out by a reverse movement to the one which was used to put it in place, such as explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The case (or bin) according to the invention has a desirable presentation. Handling of bottles is made easier and faster.

It allows storage in less floor space and with a better stability.

It suppresses completely the risk of ripping the labels which are usually glued on the bottles.

The horizontal position of the bottles is favorable to the demeanor of the liquid which they contain.

The case or bin can be used for a long timewithout any damage.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 7 to 10. The device according to the invention includes, in this embodiment, a plate 50 which has in its thickness a certain number of housings or cells, which allow, in conjunction with an opposite plate, the support of bottles in a horizontal position. Plate 50 thus comprises, opening on its upper edge 51, a cutout 52, not as deep as the plate, thus leaving a bottom 53, and limited by two sides 54 and 55 slightly convergent and joining along a circular bearing face 56, which has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the bottle neck. In the embodiment described, plate 50, which has a rectangular overall form, presents two cutouts 52, references 52, and 52 Between cutout 52 and the adjacent vertical edge 57 of the plate, there is a housing 58 which includes a circular part 59, the diameter of which is approximately equal to the body of a bottle and which opens through its upper part into a cutout 60, similar to cutout 52 and which ends consequently by a circular part 61.

In the embodiment described, the plate has two such housings, or large housings S8, and 58,. The second one being included between cutout 52, and cutout 52 The centers 62, and 62 of the circular parts 56, and 56.,, of the cutouts 52 and the centers 63, and 63 of circular parts 59, and 59 of housings 58, and 58, are aligned on a straight line 64 parallel to the upper edge 51.

Two other large housings 65, and 65 are also provided in plate 50 the first one between the cutouts 60, and 60 the second one between cutout 60 and edge 66 opposite to face 57. The large housings 65, and 65 are composed of a circular part, respectively 67, and 67,, and a cutout 68, and 68,, the latter two having circular parts 69, and 69 The plate is further provided with two circular housings 70, and 70 the centers of which are aligned on the straight line 72 joining centers 73, and 73 of the circular supports 69, and 69,; the housing 70, being placed between cutouts 68, and the vertical edge 57, and the housing 70 being placed between cutouts 68, and 68 A device such as the one just described is designed to be placed in a parallelepipedic case or box, made of wood, cardboard or a similar material, along one of its lateral face, in conjunction with an identical plate placed on the opposite lateral face, said second plate being placed, in the box or case, in an inverse position to that of the first plate.

Such an arrangement is shown schematically on FIG. 10, which shows a first plate 82 placed against face 83 of a case or box 80 and a second plate 82 placed against the opposite face 83. The arrangement is such that the large housing 58, of plate 82 is facing the small housing 52, of plate 82', the cutout 52, of plate 82 facing a large housing 58', of plate 82', etc.

To fill with bottles a case or a box thus fitted, a first bottle is deposited into the box at an inclination with its bottom turned towards plate 82 until the bottom of said bottle has been introduced in the circular housing 70,, the neck being higher than the bottom. Saidbottle is then pivoted while it is brought back to a horizontal position. On account of its obliquity, the end of the neck slides down the internal face of plate 82 without any difficulty and goes down in the cutout 68,. When it reaches the lower part of the cutout, the bottle neck spreads out slightly the edges 84' and 85 of said cutout relying thereto upon the elasticity of the material constituting plate and then reaches the circular seat 69 on which it comes to rest. The bottle is thus completely fixed and remains so whatever the direction of the accelerations to which it might be submitted due to shocks or vibrations to which might be submitted the case or box in which the bottle is placed.

A second bottle is then presented in front of the opening of the box, this bottle being inverted with respect to the first one. It is introduced at an inclination, that is to say with its body lower than its neck and the bottom of this second bottle is introduced in the circular housing 65, which is placed above the cutout 68',. When said bottle is pivoted to bring it back to a horizontal position, the neck goes down the cutout 60, and the movement is continued until said neck comes to rest on the circular seat 61,, the entrance in said seat being obtained after an elastic deflection of the lower ends of the edges 86 and 87 bounding cutout 60,.

A third bottle is introduced in the box, head to tail with respect to the second one and its bottom is introduced in the circular opening 59,; the neck slides down the cutout 52 until it comes to rest on the circular seat 56:.

The box is thus filled with a first vertical row of three bottles.

A second vertical row of three bottles is then arranged, adjacent to the first row and the bottles are introduced in a way similar to the one described above, then a third row, so that after completion of the filling the box contains twelve bottles.

Each bottle is horizontal; it is maintained with respect to any movement, in whatever direction, by abutment on bottoms 53 and 53' for accelerations directed parallel to the axis of the bottles, and by the seats or cutouts for transversal accelerations. The strength of the box is increased considerably by the introduction of the plates as well as by the bottles themselves which are used as stiffeners.

The plates, advantageously made of plastic such as polyester or similar material, play a thermal insulation role. The device can be designed for the transport of a number of bottles different from the one allowed by the embodiment described.

The number of housings in a plate can be different from the one in this embodiment.

It is possible to several plates in the same box, either sideby-side side or superposed.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 11 to 13, relating to still another form of embodiment.

The plate which is advantageously made of expanded polystyrene, or a similar material, has three types of cavities in its thickness. A large cavity which is made of a seat or cylindrical housing 101, prevailing over a large part of the circumference, which is prolonged by a notch or cutout 102 limited by two oblique faces 103 and 104 that open into a small circular housing 105, designed to receive the neck of a bottle. The foreface 106 of notch 102 is oblique so as to form a step or shoulder 107 at its connection with the small housing 105. The upper part of the large housing 101 opens outward the rear face 108 of the plate thus presenting a semicircular opening, which is limited by a semicircumference 109. The entrance of the large housing 101 has advantageously a chamfer 110.

A middle-sized cavity 111 placed under the large housing 100 provides a circular housing bounded in its upper half (on FIG. 11) by a chamfered face 110, the upper half-housing opening outwards. The internal face 112 of the lower half is parallel to the external face 108.

A small cavity 113 placed near a large cavity 100 forms a housing for a bottle neck. It is made by a notch 102, similar to the one previously described, and a small circular housing with a shoulder 107.

The introduction and the arrangement of the bottles are made in a way similar to the one described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. The cut 109 allows the bottom of the bottle, when the latter is presented slantwise, to go beyond, by a part of its circumference, the external face 108, thus allowing the neck of said bottle to go down along the slanted face 106 of the small opposed housing 113; thus when the bottom of the bottle rests on the lower part of the circular shoulder 101, the bottle neck is locked with respect to an upward movement by abutment on shoulder 107. The arrangement ensures the immobility of the bottle even if the case is put down on the face opposite to the one that was were put in. The immobility with respect to a longitudinal movement is obtained by abutment against the semicircular bottom 1140f cavity 100 and against the bottom 115 of cavity 113.

Abottle is put in a cavity 1 1 l and an opposite cavity 1 13 in a similar way and it is maintained with the same efiiciency.

I claim:

1. A casing adapted for holding a plurality of bottles in a horizontal attitude, each of said bottles having a neck portion and a bottom portion of greater cross section than that of the neck portion thereof, said casing comprising a pair of opposed walls each provided with a plurality of cooperatively opposing recesses, each of said cooperatively opposing recesses being constituted of afirst portion and a second portion, said first portion being of sufficient width for accommodating said botthe lower face when the bottles posed walls are plates removably supported in said casing.

tom portion of one of said bottles, said second portion being of smaller width than that of said first portion and of suflicient width for accommodating said neck portion of another of said bottles, said recesses being arranged in said walls such that said first and second portions of respective recesses in one wall open into one another for communication with one another and further such that each said first portion in one wall is respectively concentric with each said second portion in the other wall, whereby said cooperatively opposing recesses coact with one another for supporting said bottles in a horizontal attitude.

3. A casing as claimed in claim 2-wherein said recesses are further constituted .by an intermediary portion interposed between said first and second portions, said intermediary por-' tion varying in depth and extending at a maximum depth from said first portion to a minimum depth at said second portion, said first and second portions being substantially of equal depth, said maximum depth of said intermediary portion being substantially equal in depth to said first and second portions.

4. A casing as claimed in claim 3 wherein said first and second portions are substantially circular, and said intermediary portion is substantially rectangular.

5. A casing as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said pair of walls is resilient.

6. A casing as claimed in claim 5 wherein the resilient wall is constituted of expanded polystyrene.

7. A casing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said recesses are arranged in horizontal'rows in each of said walls such that each of said first portions in one row is separated horizontally from each of the other first portions in said one row by respective second portions interposed adjacent therebetween.

8. A casing as claimed in claim 7 wherein the adjacent first and second portions in each horizontal row have centers commonly disposed in a horizontal row. 

1. A casing adapted for holding a plurality of bottles in a horizontal attitude, each of said bottles having a neck portion and a bottom portion of greater cross section than that of the neck portion thereof, said casing comprising a pair of opposed walls each provided with a plurality of cooperatively opposing recesses, each of said cooperatively opposing recesses being constituted of a first portion and a second portion, said first portion being of sufficient width for accommodating said bottom portion of one of said bottles, said second portion being of smaller width than that of said first portion and of sufficient width for accommodating said neck portion of another of said bottles, said recesses being arranged in said walls such that said first and second portions of respective recesses in one wall open into one another for communication with one another and further such that each said first portion in one wall is respectively concentric with each said second portion in the other wall, whereby said cooperatively opposing recesses coact with one another for supporting said bottles in a horizontal attitude.
 2. A casing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pair of opposed walls are plates removably supported in said casing.
 3. A casing as claimed in claim 2 wherein said recesses are further constituted by an intermediary portion interposed between said first and second portions, said intermediary portion varying in depth and extending at a maximum depth from said first portion to a minimum depth at said second portion, said first and second portions being substantially of equal depth, said maximum depth of said intermediary portion being substantially equal in depth to said first and second portions.
 4. A casing as claimed in claim 3 wherein said first and second portions are substantially circular, and said intermediary portion is substantially rectangular.
 5. A casing as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said pair of walls is resilient.
 6. A casing as claimed in claim 5 wherein The resilient wall is constituted of expanded polystyrene.
 7. A casing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said recesses are arranged in horizontal rows in each of said walls such that each of said first portions in one row is separated horizontally from each of the other first portions in said one row by respective second portions interposed adjacent therebetween.
 8. A casing as claimed in claim 7 wherein the adjacent first and second portions in each horizontal row have centers commonly disposed in a horizontal row. 